The addition of hydrosilicon compounds to alkenes and alkynes to form an Si—C linkage plays an important role in industry. This reaction, referred to as hydrosilylation, is used, for example, for crosslinking siloxanes or for introducing functional groups into silanes or siloxanes. Hydrosilylation is generally catalyzed by noble metal complexes. Platinum, rhodium or iridium complexes are very often used, which considerably raises the cost of the method, particularly when the noble metal cannot be recovered and remains in the product.
The noble metals are only available to a limited extent as raw materials and are subject to unpredictable and uncontrollable price fluctuations. A hydrosilylation catalyst that is free of noble metal is therefore of major industrial interest.
The object of the present invention therefore consists of providing a noble metal-free hydrosilylation catalyst. Metal-free catalysts are occasionally described in the literature. The tritylium cation is known as a cationic catalyst in Can. J. Chem. 2003, 81, 1223, but the catalytic activity of which could only be demonstrated in a special case, that of an intramolecular hydrosilylation.